The show was excellent. Fiasco had a real buzz about it this year and I enjoyed it very much. If you dropped by to say hello, thanks. It is always good to meet people (old and new) face to face.
The Leeds club members were very welcoming and helpful, thank you. I still have my gripe over having to pay for parking but, hopefully if the number of punters and gate takings goes up, perhaps this is something the club might be willing to consider contributing to again in the future. I bit my tongue (again) on Sunday.
I've heard a few complaints about the lighting at the show but it was fine where we were - much better than some venues I've put games on at - and there are definite shadows in the photos below. The black 'star lit' walls were slightly unusual and this might have made things feel darker at the edges of the hall but, I wonder if the effect of this was physical or psychological.
This set up of the battle worked extremely well and I will use it again here at home at some point.
Same time next year? Quite possibly.
12 comments:
I missed Fiasco this year but your game looks superb!
Too far for me I'm afraid but as always you put on a fantastic looking game.
You make the best SYW refights on the net! Great armies & scenery
Missed it as well, I was quite looking forward to see it, and then my car share dropped out, and the parking just made it a no-go. It's a real shame, if they could sort the parking then the show would do well. How about a shuttle bus from some cheaper car park that' convenient for the motorway network?
Whats the parking costs these days ??? when i was trading there it was something like 2 hours for £2, 4 hours £3 or all day for about £6... (mind you that was a fair few years ago).
£10
£10 for the day ???...thats not bad.....
if your trading the £10 is part of your costs. If your running a demo game you don't pay to get in...so petrol and a tenner cheap day out...
and as a punter most of the time you only stay for a couple of hours...so £10 all day...its the 2 hour price thats the key...???
Although I agree that £10 is not a great deal of money, I disagree that the cost should be met by visiting demo games. As for traders, they don't pay because they get free parking in the yard behind the venue.
It is a pretty regular occurrence at war game shows that demo gamers and participation game doers are 'expected to turn up' no matter what by organisers. It is not regular in other hobbies. I know that in the world of model railways, demo-set-uppers and so forth get free parking, lunch allowances, and other expenses (including petrol and hotel bills in some cases) - they are seen by those show organisers as an intrinsic element of their shows and the time they put in is thought worthy of financial support by way of an allowance for expenses.
There were nineteen games (I think) at the show (including Leeds club games) so that would have been a club contribution of £190 to those people who turned up to make the event a success. I wonder if no games in attendance would be thought acceptable by the paying punter.
There is common misconception that demo gamers just play their game all day, just a regular game with mates. In my experience that is not the case. The game playing is secondary to talking to people, explaining things, and hopefully exciting people to take up the period (and in some rare cases, the hobby). I don't remember the last time we actually finished a game. When I get home after a show doing a demo it has been a long day, usually ten or twelve hours loading, setting up, demoing, packing up, unloading and I'm completely knackered.
Don't get me wrong, if I didn't want to do it I wouldn't. However, given the work put in I don't think free parking (when free parking places are not available) is too much to ask.
Typical..... free trade parking, when i was trading there we parked out the front and had to put money in the meter.....
The fiasco team would come round to remind us of this...
I have no problem with demo games getting free parking...
Traders also pay excessive amounts for trade stands..i have attended several large toy fairs from the NEC to local events. They are very similar to wargames shows, the punters all seem to leave by 12am to 1pm. But the traders only pay £30 for a 6 foot stand where ever it is held.. very cheap ...only paying on the day...
A show which I no longer travel up for, so it's nice to see the pictures of your game.
As far as the the show issues - I have never paid for parking at a show in the US, but that has more to do with the sites and the space and population density in the US as opposed to the UK. On the other hand, 2-3 hrs is a very short drive to a convention, with 5 to 7 hours being the norm for major ones. I'd happily pay for parking to drive half the distance, so I suppose it all washes out!
Regardless, the game looks spectacular!
Hi James
About the parking. Yes we did offer cheaper parking for people putting on demos, but that's when we could buy discounted tickets. The multistorey is not associated at all with the Armouries, and even they have pay full rate. The only tickets we could purchase are 24 hour passes, and believe me if we offered free parking for everyone not a punter, we would actually be running FIASCO at a loss! 24 games, say 2 cars per game, that's £960 outlay. So offering say a 50% discount and charge £5, that will cost us about £350.
https://citipark.co.uk/car-parks/clarence-leeds-dock-leeds
As to the traders, parking isn't free in the yard, we do charge them, only vans that cannot fit into the carpark are allowed to stay there, and it's a tentative agreement that even allows that, as the loading bay also isn't under the control of the Armouries.
As to cheaper alternatives, we do advertise the Tetley car park, all of 20 yards from the museum, but nobody wants to walk that far...
https://www.facebook.com/LeedsWargamesClub/photos/pcb.1217563388319148/1144856052268442/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/LeedsWargamesClub/photos/pcb.1217563388319148/1144856032268444/?type=3&theater
The rate for Sundays is cheaper than on the advertising boards. In fact it's £3 all day.
http://www.rcpparking.com/car_parks/park/203#park=The+Brewery+Short+Stay
Theres also a free water taxi from the station to the Armouries dock, but don't think many use that either, not best practice with a lot of stuff that doesn't float.
But other than that, unless I win the lottery, FIASCO will be the 29th October :)
Andy
LWC
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